The SPCA’s Humane Law Enforcement Division has reported finding the remains of at least 25 dead cats tossed into plastic bags and then hung from a tree in a wooded area just beyond Overlook Terrace in Yonkers (Westchester) NY. Each of the animals were said to have suffered blunt force trauma to their heads.

"Pretty disturbing, smashing their heads in and displaying them like that," he said. "We have found, in the past, cases where cats were poisoned, but we've never seen anything where they're killing them this violently," stated the, director of enforcement at the Westchester County SPCA Ernest Lungaro, who added that investigators found a baseball bat, a metal pipe and two shovels not far from the tree, although they have not confirmed whether they were used to slaughter the animals as yet. The number of cats found, however, is staggering, both in scope and violence.

Equaling shocking was is the fact that the killings have been going on for some time considering that several of the felines were little more than skeletons, while others had only been dead a few days. Lungaro said a baseball bat, two shovels and a metal pipe were found near the scene in a wooded area just off Overlook Terrace in Yonkers, about a mile and a half north of the Bronx. He said investigators from his agency, as well as the Yonkers police department were not yet sure that those items had been used in the killings. They are also trying to determine whether all the cats may have been feral, as well as how many people may have been involved. In the meantime, Alley Cart Allies, an organization from Maryland, which sponsors programs to neuter feral cats is offering a reward of $750 for information leading to the arrest of any guilty parties.

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Known to readers as Hartford's Wellness Examiner, Diana's passions and expertise also extend to animals and their welfare. A graduate of the North American School of Animal Science, she earned the title "the chick's midwife" overseeing the annual chicken hatching project at a nursery school near her home for ten years.